Hedge funds circle PizzaExpress

A hedge fund that shared a multibillion-pound bounty after making bets on the collapsed Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers is among those reportedly circling debt-laden dining chain PizzaExpress.

The Telegraph​ reports​​ that CarVal is one of a handful of money managers to have bought into PizzaExpress’s heavily discounted corporate bonds.

According to the paper’s sources, other investors include Cyrus Capital – the Wall Street fund that has invested in airlines alongside Sir Richard Branson – and distressed debt specialist HIG Bayside.

PizzaExpress has £1.1bn of loans with some £665m of the debt formed of corporate bonds, which must be repaid starting in 2021.